


And We Shall Never Speak Of This Again

by Larathia



Category: Final Fantasy I, Final Fantasy VIII
Genre: Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-13
Updated: 2014-07-12
Packaged: 2018-02-08 14:48:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,794
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1945203
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Larathia/pseuds/Larathia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The cast of FF8 has been dropped into the original Final Fantasy. Because why not. And now they have to get home again. But people keep calling them 'Light Warriors'...</p><p>(The full cast doesn't show up at first, but they will.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	And We Shall Never Speak Of This Again

They woke lying on the grass of a quite pleasant looking field. It had flowers and butterflies.

It did not have familiarity.

Squall sat up, rubbing at his forehead. “Sound off. Who's okay?”

“Hey!” cried Selphie, indignantly. “Who put _this_ on me?”

The others looked toward her. Instead of her usual bright jumper, Selphie was wearing a long black ...gown? And a tall, pointed straw hat with a brim broad enough to shield a vampire from the noonday sun. 

No one commented on it, however, because immediately on noticing Selphie's new attire, everyone checked their own. Rinoa was wearing a brilliant white gown with a sort of wing pattern to the sleeves and a soft hood. But Squall and Zell's clothes were untouched, though Squall couldn't find his gunblade and Zell seemed to have lost his gloves.

“Why dress them and not us?” Zell asked, as though hurt to be left out.

“Why dress us like this at all?” asked Rinoa, shaking her head. “Why any of it?” 

“We'd better find some answers,” sighed Squall, getting to his feet. From a standing position, he could make out the smoke contrails of chimneys to the north. “There's civilization that way. Come on people, let's get moving.”

Selphie seemed indignant about having to tromp around fields in an evening gown, but she was willing enough to fall in. “When I get my hands on some nunchaku, you better believe  _somebody_ is going to pay for this.”

Rinoa nodded agreement, though it was hard to see under that white hood. “I mean...it's a nice robe. Really. But the last time we traveled we didn't get our  _clothes_ changed.”

That wasn't bothering Squall half as much as walking around an unfamiliar area without any kind of weaponry to defend them, but he didn't say anything about it. Hopefully, they could make it to civilization before it became a vital issue.

The...city? They sort of had to assume it was a city, it was certainly bigger than a village – was surrounded by a fairly impressive stone wall. The gate they could see had a bridge over a swift-running stream, and on top of the wall were armored men with spears.

“Definitely the past,” decided Zell. “I mean...we could probably _pole-vault_ that wall if we needed to. Or just climb over. Lot of work, not a lot of defense.”

Squall nodded. “I don't remember any walled fortifications though. Do you? Was Centra ever walled?”

Rinoa tugged at Squall's arm. “Come on. We won't find out anything out here.”

Selphie was way ahead of them. Gathering her skirts about her so they wouldn't get in the way of angry strides, she all but stalked up to the city's drawbridge, leaving the other three to catch up.

The guard at the drawbridge was very nervous to see Selphie approaching, which proved the man could think, but his expression changed to one of wonder when the other three caught up. “The King said the Light Warriors would come. Could  _you_ be...?”

The four exchanged looks of puzzled resignation that said, universally,  _we have no idea what he's talking about but we've got a bad feeling we're going to find out_ . 

Squall said, slowly – because he didn't want to be, but had a feeling it would be easier in the long run if he did, “And if we say we are?”

“The King will want to see you right away!” said the guard happily, and shouted up at the walls: “Hey! Frank! I think the Light Warriors are here!”

Squall – without apparently thinking about it – reached over and clamped a hand over Selphie's mouth before she could tell the guards what she thought about black dresses in fields and no weapons and being called a 'light warrior'. Rinoa covered her mouth with her hand to stifle a giggle.

Whoever Frank was, he apparently could mobilize a lot of guards quickly. Red-armored spearmen trooped out of the gate, surrounding the four, which was disconcerting until they were close enough that the travelers could see they were intended as an honor guard.

“Guess we're seeing the king,” said Zell, trying not to laugh. He wouldn't need his gloves if this was their idea of warfare. Settling an arm around Rinoa's shoulders, he let Squall get a grip on Selphie and the four were paraded through the city.

“Check your pockets,” Squall whispered as they kept pace with their honor guard. The palace was hard to miss; it was easily as big as the whole city, all by itself, though only about as tall as the outer wall. “Tell me if you've got a rock that you didn't have before we came here.”

Wearing polite poker faces, they did so. One by one, all four nodded. Now Selphie wasn't angry; she was wearing the little frown she tended to wear when a new and intriguing puzzle had presented itself. The guards didn't seem to notice; they were visibly bursting with pride to be the escort before the King.

~*~

The King, as it turned out, was an older man in very expensive looking robes with a long velvet and fur cape. He, too, brightened on seeing the four travelers. “The Light Warriors. At last.”

The other three looked at Squall.  _Oh. Right. Leader._ Not that he had much idea what to do. Hazarding a guess, he tried, “I take it you have a job for us?” Because that was generally a safe assumption when people hailed someone as a 'warrior' this way.

“We cannot assume,” said the King in defiance of everything that had already occurred, “that you are indeed the Light Warriors of the prophecy. Do you have the crystals?”

Again the other three looked at Squall, who nodded slightly. Everyone took the rocks out of their pockets – in Rinoa and Selphie's cases, from the little pouches hanging from their belts. Squall's was white, Zell's was green, Rinoa's was blue, and Selphie's was red. They looked like ordinary enough cut gemstones. But when they held them out, the King gave a sigh of unmitigated relief.

“Garland, one of my best knights, kidnapped my daughter Sarah,” said the King, as the four pocketed their rocks again. “It has been foretold that only the Light Warriors can free her.” He gave the four a pointed look. “I cannot grant you much, but if you will rescue her from Garland's clutches I will rebuild the bridge to the north, so that you may rekindle the Light of the Crystals and restore the world.”

The other three shut up in that very special way that said they were leaving this puzzle to Squall, and would reserve chewing him out over whatever he decided until they weren't standing in front of a king.

Squall thought it over. He had no idea why they were  _here_ , but clearly now that they  _were_ they held some kind of mystic prophetic position that kings not only knew about but welcomed. Which suggested that whatever force had  _brought_ them here, intended that they fulfil those prophecies and might regard doing so as a prerequisite for going home again. Still... “Who made this prophecy?”

“Lukhan,” said the King. “A very wise man; I trust his word. Will you go? Will you rescue my daughter?”

_Lukhan_ . So now they had a name. Someone who might know what on Hyne's green earth they were doing here. They'd need to find out more about this Lukhan, so ...probably having a bridge to another kingdom would turn out to be useful, since if Lukhan were ...wherever  _here_ was... the king would probably have known and said so. And in the meantime, well. Rescuing a princess in exchange for a working bridge sounded like a contract, and he knew how to deal with those. “Agreed,” he said, and when the whole court  _looked_ at him, he realized he was supposed to acknowledge the King's rank. Fishing through old arguments with Seifer, he appended a tentative, 'your majesty' and everyone relaxed.

“Excellent!” said the King happily. “Here are some travel funds. Please, go into the city and stay at the inn. Equip yourselves however you think best. Bring my daughter back safely!”

The guards dispersed, leaving the four to make their own way out. Squall, Zell, and Selphie all had to work at not looking surprised that all these guards had suddenly left their king open to assassination by a bunch of strangers. Rinoa just smiled. “We're the Light Warriors, remember?” she said. “They have a story in their heads already, that we're heroes. Of course their king isn't in any danger. Now let's explore!”

Zell shrugged, and grinned. “Sounds good to me.”

Rinoa, much to the surprise of the SeeDs, turned out to be quite right. With the King's affirmation that they were, indeed, the Light Warriors, guards simply nodded respectfully as they passed, or said things like “Bless the Crystals!” as if it were some kind of victory cry. 

The welcome wasn't  _entirely_ universal, as they found locked doors in the northeastern part of the palace. The guards – old men, here, the sort who thought of guarding as a sacred trust rather than an actual protection against theft – spoke of a mystical key that unlocked the doors, that had been given for safekeeping to the Prince of Elfland.

“So, wait,” said Selphie slowly. “I'm guessing this king we just talked to isn't the king of Elfland. So why is he guarding Elfland's stuff?”

“Could be a treaty, maybe,” Zell offered. “I mean, maybe this king owed the Elfland king a debt.”

“I'm still wondering what an 'elf' is,” said Squall. “I don't remember anything about elfs in our studies. I'm not sure we've gone into the past, this time. We may be somewhere else entirely.”

Rinoa mused, “It may just be another name for something we  _would_ recognize. So it could still be the past. Really, really far back. I mean, I don't know about you guys, but I wouldn't be surprised if we've gone a  _really_ long way back. Plate armor and spears? Crystals?” She took out her blue one, studying it closely. “I think it may  _be_ a magical stone,” she noted. “Like a water stone? But there's something wrong with it. Selphie?”

Selphie took out her red stone, focusing her attention on it. “I see what you mean,” she agreed. “Like...it  _could_ be a fire stone, but something's stopping it, or crushing it.”

As they headed down the stairs into the main floor of the castle, Squall said, “Something brought us here. I think it brought us here to play this part – make this prophecy of theirs come true. I want to find out more about Lukhan. If anyone understands what it is we're meant to do here, how to get home, it'll be the guy that apparently told  _everyone else_ we were coming.”

“Agreed,” said Rinoa. “Um. How much did the king give us, exactly?”

Heading out into the city proper, Squall opened the bag of coin the king had offered. “...looks like about a hundred of the local currency. We'll have to see how far that takes us.” He looked to the others. “Best split up. And find something  _sturdy_ to put those crystals into. Armbands, or chokers, or something. Anything to let people see them, without them getting lost or knocked loose in a fight. Our best bet right now is to play the role we're being shoved into – we should make it work  _for_ us as much as we can.”

“Our new SeeD identification,” said Selphie with a laugh. “All right, boss. Let's meet at the inn in a few hours?”

“Agreed,” said Squall, dividing the money between them.

~*~

They split up, because even unarmed it didn't look like the city was much of a threat. And by the time they'd reconvened at the inn, all four wore variations of the same tired, somewhat exasperated expression.

“I don't know about you guys,” Selphie opened as they stepped into their rented room, “But if _one more_ guy tells me 'bless the crystals' I may have to hit them.”

“I found out about Lukhan, sort of,” Rinoa volunteered. “And I got a few spellbooks. The shopkeeper said I qualified for them. They're healing spells.”

“The fountain told me I had a grimy face,” said Zell – which got the other three staring at him. “Well, it _did_. And then told me to wash it. I swear it was the fountain! I looked! There was nothing in the water but water!”

“I believe you,” said Squall, firmly not smiling. “But now that it's not talking to you, you should probably wash your face anyway.”

“Oh, bite me,” grumped Zell, and prowled the room looking for a pitcher. Four beds, which was a little eerie, but not a lot of other furniture.

“I found out there's another city, somewhere on the other side of the broken bridge,” said Squall. “Pravoca. And the city we're in is Corneria. Or Cornelia. One of those.” He paused, thinking. “City of Cornelia, kingdom of Corneria. These people aren't exactly creative. And one guy said this is where dreams are made, but I'm fairly sure he was stoned.”

“I'd agree with that,” Selphie nodded. “These people are _not_ the brightest. And I can't find anything that looks remotely homey. Even old-fashioned homey. So we're either thousands of years into our past, or somewhere else altogether.”

“I think we'd better go with 'somewhere else altogether',” said Rinoa. “Like I said. I heard about Lukhan. He's apparently a traveling prophet. I heard he left this kingdom searching for a 'crescent moon'. Which could, really, be anything I suppose.”

Zell made a little 'ahah!' sound as he found the wash basin and pitcher, and proceeded to give himself a brief cat-bath with a washcloth. “You guys want the downside? The weapons here are primitive to a scary degree. And they don't sell gloves, which means I'm going to have to toughen my hands up the hard way.” He paused while he de-grimed his face. “Oh, and they have this little mystical test about who they'll sell to. So while I saw nunchaku, Selphie, I don't know that they're going to let you have them. We may be doing a lot of adapting.”

All four of them paused to take that in. Squall eventually broke the silence to say, “Rinoa? Spells?”

“Like Zell said, they've got this mystic thing that controls who they sell to,” she said unhappily. “But I could get a basic healing spell. And something to scare off undead. I...think that's what the gowns mean. The shopkeeper had a gown like mine. And the shop next door? Had clothes like what's on Selphie now.”

Squall turned to Selphie. “If our weapons are limited, you'd better get what magic you can from there. We're going to need all the help we can get while we get the hang of the local weaponry.”

Selphie sighed. “Sure. But I don't get why Zell can't just buy the nunchaku and give them to me.”

“Mystic whatsits,” said Zell. “It's all apparently bound up in this whole Light Warrior deal. If they won't sell them to you, they won't work for you.”

Selphie gave Zell a patient  _are you stupid?_ Look. “They're  _nunchaku_ . Two sticks, chain in the middle. They're not fighter jets or ballistic missiles. How could they  _ not work _ for me?”

Zell shrugged. “You'll see when we go get weapons for everyone,” he said, not taking it personally. Turning to Squall, he added, “And I found out where Garland's holed up. You're gonna love this. It's called the Chaos Shrine. Some ways northwest.”

“Monster infested territory, of course,” sighed Squall.

“Actually not so much,” Zell noted. “Apparently they've got things called goblins, they're not tough but they're everywhere. And some big worms and spiders and maybe some undead, but at least if we have to go back to weapon basics 101 we're not likely to get eaten.”

“Did you get a map?” asked Rinoa. “That's some really good intel gathering.”

“They said it's past the mountain pass,” said Zell. “Just head northward and it's past the pass, near the coast. Apparently hard to miss. This is some kind of island kingdom. Or at least functions like one, pinned by the mountains and the sea.”

“And they're fine with their only bridge to the rest of the world being out of commission,” mused Squall. “Sounds on the insane side to me.” He looked to the others. “Your choice. We can crash for now, and pick up weapons and gear in the morning and see how far we get. Or we can start now.”

“Now,” said Selphie firmly. “These people are boring. No clubs, no libraries, no computers, no parties, and no  _ conversation _ . The sooner we get moving the better. I'd even sleep on the trail.”

“...Agreed, actually,” Rinoa admitted. “There isn't much here for us. The people don't know very much that's useful. The sooner we get somewhere else, the sooner we can pick up Lukhan's trail.”

“Thirded,” said Zell. “Not that I mind being the heavy hitter for a change, but I don't like feeling shoehorned into someone else's life. And all this prophecy stuff feels like a big shoehorn.”

“Then we move,” said Squall, getting up. “Let's get our gear and start pushing ourselves.”

~*~

Much to Selphie's chagrin, Zell proved right when it came to weapons, though only Squall had any kind of advantage. The weapon seller, in defiance of any known mercantile practice, would only sell them what  _ he _ thought they could use – and although Zell could buy the nunchaku, when he tried to hand them to Selphie they dropped to the floor as if made of magnetized iron, and only Zell proved able to lift them again.

He sold them back, because if it was nunchaku or bare, ungloved hands, he trusted his hands more.

Squall made out all right with a rapier, though it was far and away lighter than any blade he was used to using. Selphie, much to her annoyance, was given a staff, and Rinoa stood in stark bafflement as she was given a quite heavy looking hammer.

“It's...light,” she said in surprise, hefting it. “I mean, for me it's light.” She smiled at Squall. “I like the rapier.”

Squall shook his head. “I feel like I'm swinging a toothpick,” he said. “How are we for armor?”

The armor store – conveniently and somewhat oddly right next door – would give Squall a set of heavy red chainmail. Zell got leather, but Selphie and Rinoa had to make do with their robes. 

“Guess I get to be defender,” said Squall, trying to adjust to the weight of the chain on his shoulders. “How do people  _ move _ in this stuff?”

“Wondering that myself,” said Zell, rapping on the hardened leather he'd been allowed. “Goblins could be a  _ problem _ given we aren't used to moving in this stuff.”

“A contract is a contract,” said Squall. “We agreed to rescue the princess, and at least we'll be able to hope for something better in the next town. Weapons and spells ready, everyone.”

“I'm in the mood to kick some butt myself,” Zell nodded, smacking a fist into his palm.

“Same here,” agreed Selphie.

~*~

Trooping out of the city gates to the enthusiastic cheers of the peasantry, they found themselves back at the field in which they'd awoken. Zell pointed northward, where mountains could be seen in the distance, and a gap between them. “We make for that gap. The temple or shrine or whatever, is somewhere on the other side.”

Without further comment the four set out, already just wanting to get this over with. Goblins, as it turned out, were what the locals called the small hordes of twisted blue and green humanoids that thankfully hadn't gotten to grips with the idea of armor, or weapons more serious than rocks and sticks. Squall could use the rapier well, but moving in chain mail was wearying. Zell was free to move, but punching without protective gloves meant he was often relying on Rinoa's healing spells. Selphie, frustrated but gleeful to have targets to take it out on, didn't even  _ need _ her magic – just laying about her with the staff as if it were a club, she beat goblins to death.

Rinoa was almost sheepish about how easy she found it to kill a goblin with one swing of her hammer, and alone of the group she didn't say anything at all. But she did wonder if maybe she could take the hammer home with her because it seemed a lot easier to use than the weapon she'd used before. It wasn't a weapon she would ever have thought to use, but the weapon seller had been quite specific. She wondered how he'd known it would fit her hand – and if Squall's ease with the rapier was from anything like a similar cause, or simply because he'd always used blades of one sort or another. Or if Selphie's ease with the staff were more than just taking out frustration.

_ Maybe we really are the Light Warriors. Even if we don't think we are. But what does that  _ mean _ , really? What exactly is a Light Warrior? _

They made it as far as the pass, the first day. Squall struggled out of the chainmail and breathed deeply once it was off. “Old fashioned armors are heavy. The stuff Laguna was wearing for the movie wasn't half as heavy.”

“Movie prop,” nodded Zell. “Probably made of tin. Just looks shiny and pretty, doesn't actually deflect anything. You gonna be able to breathe in that stuff?”

Selphie set a campfire by the simple expedient of casting a fire spell on the ground and refusing to let it burn out. “The past could definitely be worse,” she said cheerfully. Hours spent clubbing goblins had done wonders for her mood.

Squall stretched out on the ground, his head in Rinoa's lap. “I'll manage. Get out of your armor and come stretch out.”

Rinoa smiled, to have both her knights pillowed against her, but it made Selphie moody. “Remind me again that Irvy isn't here,” she said quietly. “Why  _ four _ . Why us four?”

“We find Lukhan, maybe we get some answers,” said Squall. “Meantime, I'd call Kinneas lucky. They weren't exactly selling guns at that weapon shop, Selphie.”

Rinoa focused, and manifested her wings to spread over Squall and Zell. “At least I've still got this,” she said. “And I seem to be better at healing spells than the shopkeeper suggested I would be.”

Selphie blinked, distracted for a moment from her loneliness. “You know, I noticed that too. The stuff I bought at the store, I'm  _ extra _ good at. Like, I can still use the magic from before, but if I get the local version it's like...boom. Awesome in a can.” She took out the little red crystal. “Especially fire magic.”

Rinoa looked down, but Squall and Zell, tucked against her, were already asleep. Or at least firmly pretending to be. They'd carried the bulk of the day's combat. “Do you want to try using your magic tomorrow?” she asked Selphie. “On the goblins and things?”

“Not on goblins,” said Selphie, getting comfortable on the ground. “Waste of mana, using magic on goblins. But if we get swarmed by something bigger...yeah, I think so. The guys seem kind of tired.”

“I think it's the armor,” Rinoa mused. “They're not used to it.”

Selphie nodded. “Have you noticed...” she began, almost tentatively, “how easy it gets if you just go with the flow? Like...nod and smile to all the Light Warrior stuff?”

Rinoa nodded back. “What do you think about it?”

“I think we don't have a choice, is what I think,” said Selphie with a frown. “Whatever brought us here gave us a job, and I don't think we're going to get to back out of it. This princess we're rescuing is just the start.”

“I think so too,” Rinoa agreed, a bit unhappily. The fact that no one seemed to know exactly what a Light Warrior was, beyond some kind of good omen, was really bothering her. What if they were to be sacrificed or something to 'bless the crystals'? What then? “We should get some sleep.”

“You can take the watch,” Selphie yawned, closing her eyes. “They're not gonna let you lie flat anyway.”

~*~

The monsters got tougher as they trekked northward, but as Rinoa and Selphie had discussed, the four found it easier once they started accepting the roles they'd found themselves in. Squall should have been a full body bruise after a full day in chain mail he wasn't used to, but he found himself wearing it more easily than he had the day before. Zell, too, found his hands were taking the punishment of fighting without gloves remarkably well. And the first time Selphie let loose with fire magic an entire wolf pack was put to rout.

Rinoa hung back, as she was used to doing, and let the SeeDs take the lead, but she also found it easier and easier to swing her hammer in what – to her enemies – were clearly mighty and crushing blows. She'd never thought of herself in such terms, though, and it was very odd to think about.

The abandoned temple, or 'shrine of chaos' if you wanted to believe what the group considered “Zell's stoner source”, certainly looked...well. Dark and foreboding. The four beheld it in silence four about thirty seconds.

“Ultimecia had more style,” Zell opined at last.

“Yeah,” Selphie agreed, hefting her staff. “This place just needs a duster the size of twenty chocobos. Why is it the bad guys never clean their castles?”

“It has undead, and they never notice dust,” said Rinoa, leading the way inside. “I think I can handle this, though.” White wings spreading, she cast the undead-repulsion spell ...and found to her surprise and shock that it didn't  _ repel _ undead, it  _ damaged _ them. In fact, it turned them right to dust. “Um? I didn't  _ mean  _ to do that...”

Zell smiled and hugged her. “ _ Not _ a problem. I hate punching bones and rot. You just go right on and flashfire them, and I'll save my punches for the worms and wolves.”

“I've got the worms and wolves!” called Selphie, as if calling dibs. 

The shrine was fairly simple in layout, and they worked out fairly quickly that Garland, if he were there at all, had to be in the center. And sure enough, when they pushed open the doors, there he was. With a young woman bound in enchantments, and a big dark altar with a swirly dark crystal on it, and lots of bats.

“...I think he's a bad guy,” said Zell, in a tone that suggested he felt this needed to be said so he'd say it and get it out of the way. 

“I think you're right,” said Squall, drawing his sword. 

“NO ONE TOUCHES MY PRINCESS!” shrieked the man that was, presumably, Garland, and charged them.

The fight should have been epic. It should have been glorious. It should have been a heartwarming victory.

In fact, it was full of fire and smoke and a lot of stabbing and shrieking, and it was actually over quite quickly. 

The four of them considered the fallen former knight.

Selphie asked, “Do we still get paid if it's that easy?”

“You must be the Light Warriors,” said a new voice, and they turned to find the woman Garland had bound in spells was now free. “Thank you.” She raised her hands...

...and they found themselves right back at the Castle Cornelia. 

They shared a look. It said, universally,  _ she just teleported us all that way and something like Garland could tie her up? _

But she was approaching them now, a small instrument in her hands. “I am Sarah, Princess of Corneria. This lute has been passed down from mother to daughter for thousands of years. Garland kidnapped me when he stole it; I am sure he meant some horrible evil with it. I give it now to you for safe keeping, and hope its magic will aid you in your quest.”

Squall accepted it, and passed it to Rinoa, as the princess finally let her father give her a welcoming hug.

“Thank you for rescuing my daughter,” said the King. “I'll keep my end, and rebuild the bridge to the north as I promised. Go now, prepare yourselves, and make the Crystals shine again!”

Taking that as a dismissal, they headed down the stairs into the city.

“So...no actual  _ gold _ , then,” sighed Selphie. “We really need to negotiate better on our next contract, Squall.”

  
  



End file.
